Business Law Attorney in New York, New York

These days, owning a business involves significantly more than just flipping over the “open” sign on the front door. How you set up a business and operate it involves challenging legal issues. It is essential to protect you and your business. After all, it is an investment. 

At Adelman Law, P.C., we represent a broad range of commercial enterprises, from sole proprietorships to corporations and other business entities. If you are considering launching a new business or if you have an established business, put our legal experience your corner. 

Adelman Law, P.C. proudly helps clients in the following areas of business law.  

Business Formation

If you want to get your business started on the correct path, you need to choose the right type of entity. Business formation is a critical part of launching a new enterprise.    

Sole proprietorships, limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, S, B, and C corporations, close corporations, nonprofit organizations, and cooperatives are common business structures. The type of entity you form determines your personal liability, tax obligations, ability to raise money, the type of paperwork you need to file, and more. It is important that you explore your options with a business law attorney so the structure you choose aligns with your business goals. 

Moreover, when you launch a business, you will need to establish legally binding contracts and agreements with clients, vendors, employees, property owners, and others. Doing these correctly from the outset is vital to the success of your business. 

Avoiding Contract Disputes

For every contract you enter, there is the potential for dispute. Non-compete and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), leases, sales contracts, customer service agreements, supplier agreements, and others can cost your business time and money.

A good offense is the best defense, which means creating strong contracts in the first place, and having your business attorney review any contracts extended to you for consideration, may reduce the opportunity for disputes. However, if you are unable to work out a contract disagreement with the other party on your own, you will need other ways to resolve it. 

Finding a resolution through a contract dispute includes the following: negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation. The investment of time and money you will need to make in a business dispute is also in that order. In each and every option, you will benefit from the guidance of a business attorney who has helped clients resolve similar issues before. 

Employment Law

Employment law is increasingly more complicated. Whether you have one employee or hundreds, most of the same laws apply. If your business fails to comply with labor laws, it will pay a steep price.  

Wages, hours, overtime, employee classification, tax withholding, benefits administration, workers’ compensation, union representation, and equal opportunity compliance are just a few areas that businesses must address. Whether your company can support a human resources department or not, you must comply or face the consequences.  

Employee lawsuits stem from such issues as miscommunication, lack of attention paid to employee complaints, allegations of discrimination, improper performance reviews, personal relationships, perceived sleights in promotions, and wrongful termination. Understanding how you should monitor events and deal with legal complaints is crucial to success.   

Business Dissolution

It is critical to start and dissolve a business correctly. If your business no longer works for you personally, professionally, or financially, you may need to end it to move on with whatever is next. 

Obviously, dissolving a sole proprietorship or partnership will be far less complex than dissolving a corporation with shareholders. Your business formation documents may prescribe the steps the business must take to cease. Governing documents for larger companies often include dissolution requirements. In every case, contracts must end legally, and there must be specific notifications and execution of certain documents to prevent any issues with dissolution.   

If the business has a board of directors or shareholders, their vote determines whether or not the business dissolves. As the business owner, you need to be represented by an attorney who will protect your best interests. 

Why Hiring a Business Attorney Is Important

Regardless of how your business is structured or what industry it is in, you will benefit from the representation of a business law attorney. As you read these summaries of common areas of business law, you probably got a sense of the complexities of running a business. It’s not all about the core mission of your company. There is much more to running a business.   

However, because you would rather focus on that core mission, it's beneficial to work with an experienced business lawyer who can focus on the necessary legal issues. Your attorney can help create documents, contracts, and policies that will protect you and your business from any legal consequences.